]]>Looking for a place to put your Tiny?http://designerecohomes.com.au/looking-place-put-tiny/
Tue, 14 Mar 2017 03:13:15 +0000http://designerecohomes.com.au/?p=1234Beachside Village maybe Australia’s first Tiny House Community right on the Beach. They are advertising: AVAILABLE SPACE in Ulladulla NSW $175pw “We have 20 available spaces for Tiny Houses, with electricity, town water & sewer. Spaces are 9.5m long by 10m wide. First 10 Tiny Houses to […]

]]>When Tiny is Terrifichttp://designerecohomes.com.au/when-tiny-is-terrific/
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 03:06:53 +0000http://designerecohomes.com.au/?p=1213It’s not hard to see why some people may look for an alternative – whether it’s the size of a home or location choice – to the often prohibitively expensive property markets in capital cities around Australia. Check out this article by Realestate.com featuring Designer Eco Tiny […]

]]>It’s not hard to see why some people may look for an alternative – whether it’s the size of a home or location choice – to the often prohibitively expensive property markets in capital cities around Australia.

]]>Tiny Tour and Interview at the Sydney Home Show with Darren Hugheshttp://designerecohomes.com.au/tinytourandinterviewhomeshow/
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:21:43 +0000http://designerecohomes.com.au/?p=1106Would you like to know more about us? Check out this interview and tour of our Tiny courtesy of Tiny Houses Australia

]]>Milton Ulladulla Times Articlehttp://designerecohomes.com.au/milton-ulladulla-times-article/
Sat, 02 Apr 2016 10:21:49 +0000http://designerecohomes.com.au/?p=711Tiny houses may be the solution to Australia’s housing shortage according to Bawley Point builder, Grant Emans. Read full article at www.ulladullatimes.com.au/story/3823336/tiny-houses-could-be-the-future-of-australian-housing

]]>Beat the Traffic – Zero Emissions!http://designerecohomes.com.au/beat-the-traffic-zero-emissions/
Sat, 28 Sep 2013 10:20:19 +0000http://designerecohomes.com.au/?p=558Here at Designer Eco Homes we are always looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment. But we are also looking for ways to increase the quality of life and personal health. Traffic in Sydney is getting worse and worse. In the mornings, we are […]

]]>Here at Designer Eco Homes we are always looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment. But we are also looking for ways to increase the quality of life and personal health.
Traffic in Sydney is getting worse and worse. In the mornings, we are able to start early and generally traffic is manageable. But the afternoon is a different story all together. A trip that may take 40min in the morning can easily be blown out to 1 hour 30min in the afternoon, and if there is a breakdown or accident blocking traffic that can push it over the 2 hour mark!
In an attempt to combat this problem we have purchased an electric bicycle – Zoco Xtreme 500W Electric Bike.
The bike is stored in the back of the work car with all the other trade tools. When driving home in the afternoon and we encounter traffic, we simply pull over into the nearest side street, lock up the car and head to the nearest train station on the electric bike. We utilise the train network to cover the bulk of the distance and then just ride home from there. Our final home destination is Lugarno, so on the train we either end up at Mortdale or Riverwood. Both have uphill rides and as you can imagine at the end of a hard day’s work on the building site, the last thing you want to be doing is working hard to get home. The 500W electric motor has plenty of power to be able to get up all the hills at 40km per hour. There is a 250W version if you live in a flatter area. In the morning we simply reverse the process and ride to the location of the car and continue on the day from there.

We have mounted a child seat to the back to store the lunch bag and any other important items we don’t want left in the car overnight, and it proves a fun activity on the weekend to take the kids to the park, or café etc etc.
The bike produces zero emissions. So it is also a good way to reduce your carbon footprint. Not everyone can use this type of transport, but if more people thought outside the square, they may find opportunities to reduce their impact. We all need to look at ways were individually we can do our part.
So if you’re in the Lugarno area, look out for us riding the electric bike in the afternoons and on the weekend! Ideally we are looking for home owners to build environmentally sustainable homes within the Lugarno area. This will be the ultimate reduction in carbon as we only have to travel short distances to the site. We are currently developing a small trailer to accommodate the tools so for jobs within a short distance of Lugarno we can use the electric bike 100% of the time.

]]>Origin home charge pointhttp://designerecohomes.com.au/origin-home-charge-point/
Sat, 28 Sep 2013 01:03:36 +0000http://designerecohomes.com.au/?p=567In the future I believe every home in Sydney will have an electric car charging point in the garage as a standard fixture. Today, it is barely seen but as technology and our need to reduce emissions increases, these will become an everyday part of building a […]

]]>In the future I believe every home in Sydney will have an electric car charging point in the garage as a standard fixture. Today, it is barely seen but as technology and our need to reduce emissions increases, these will become an everyday part of building a new home.

In our time of building over the last 14 years I have only installed one of them. The owner also installed a 4kw solar system to assist charging the car. The solar system will only help to charge during the day, but every little bit counts to reducing the overall impact we have on the environment.

So far the choice of electric vehicles is limited, but as time goes on that will change. Nissan has the “Leaf”, Telsa has a number of sporty looking models from the USA, and Mitsubishi Motors has the i-MiEV. Holden also has the “Volt” which is a combined electric and fuel option.

As part of our commitment to reduce our impact on the environment and promote more sustainable buildings, Designer Eco Homes is offering as part of their building packages, the supply and installation of the Origin Home Charge Point for any new building in Sydney for clients who have an electric car.

Assume you live in Lugarno in the south of Sydney and have to commute to Ryde for you work. Using a Nissan Leaf you will have to charge your car after 3 days. Most people will do it at night while you sleep, so essentially you never have to go to a petrol station again or use a remote charging station. In order to charge the car at full capacity it is estimated that it will take 22Kw of power. So depending on your home energy provider will depend on what it will cost. Assuming a rate of $0.27 per Kw this will cost you under $6 to “fill up”. When you compare that to a standard petrol car which gets 10km/litre (Toyota Corolla) based on the current fuel rate of $1.50 per litre, the same three days of running your car will cost around $24. So that’s a difference of approx. $18. If you think of it over the course of a full year (48 working weeks) that cost difference is around $1,440. One car produces zero emissions; the other car will produce about 2 tonnes of CO2 emissions! So it’s not just the money to think about, it’s your impact on the environment.

]]>Solar PV Systems – Sustainable Futurehttp://designerecohomes.com.au/solar-pv-systems-sustainable-future/
Wed, 28 Aug 2013 10:15:09 +0000http://designerecohomes.com.au/?p=545Recently Designer Eco Homes has installed a 1.5KW Photovoltaic Solar Power System on the office roof. It was done in order to offset the power we use for running the business. Since it was installed we have been able to not only offset the power we use, […]

]]>Recently Designer Eco Homes has installed a 1.5KW Photovoltaic Solar Power System on the office roof. It was done in order to offset the power we use for running the business. Since it was installed we have been able to not only offset the power we use, but also put back into the grid. We only receive a credit of 6 cents for the power we produce, but we didn’t install the system to make money from it. We save money by using it, and also reduce the amount of energy that needs to be created by the electricity company. It’s just a small contribution, but if we all do it then we can make a significant our impact on the environment.

So what size should you install? The best way to determine what size you need is by doing some research. The solar system will produce the most amount of energy between 10am and 2pm on your average day. So start a log. Write down how much energy you use during those times. If you work all day, just note down what the reading is before and after work. A 1.5KW system should make about 5-6KW on average every day. So depending on what your readings come back at after a week of research will tell you what size system you need. If you simply take the energy company quarterly bill and work it out from that, you could find yourself buying a bigger system than you really need.
Solar PV system is only good at offsetting the power you use between 10am-2pm or when the sun is shining.
The energy company is charging you approx. 25 cents to use their power between 7am -11pm. So best to run your washing machine, dishwasher, and any other high powered devices you need during 10am-2pm so you use the solar power rather than the grid power. Any excess solar power you produce will result in a credit of 6 cents, or a 25% of what it costs you to buy off them.
If you are away all day and no one is at home to be able to do that, you can either program modern machines to start at given times, or solar power is not necessary for you. Solar PV systems are only good if you use the power between 10am -2pm. So if you have a home office, your partner is at home, or a shift worker.
By installing solar power, in order for it to be successful you also have to change your routine. Most people run the dish washer after dinner, but this has to change to the day time or it simply won’t be cost effective. You are better off looking for alternative ways to reduce your power consumption and offset your energy use in other ways.

]]>Passive Solar Design Principleshttp://designerecohomes.com.au/passive-solar-design-principles/
http://designerecohomes.com.au/passive-solar-design-principles/#respondWed, 05 Sep 2012 05:35:24 +0000http://www.composition.com.au/ecobuildersblog/?p=337How do I… design using passive solar design principles? With increasing concern for the environment and rising energy bills, a lot of people want to incorporate passive design principles into new homes, or green-ovate by retrofitting passive design features into existing properties. Passive design is all about […]

]]>How do I… design using passive solar design principles?
With increasing concern for the environment and rising energy bills, a lot of people want to incorporate passive design principles into new homes, or green-ovate by retrofitting passive design features into existing properties. Passive design is all about taking a commonsense approach by creating a home that adapts with the seasons, one that is comfortably warm in winter without feeling like an oven in summer. It needs to be appropriate for the climate, oriented to take advantage of the natural warming and cooling attributes of the site, and use the right amounts of insulation in the roof and walls glazing and thermal mass to ensure year-round comfort. Well-positioned windows will allow ventilation in the warmer months, while cladding the exterior of the home with lightweight materials will also make it easier to insulate, and will stop it from overheating in summer.

Position, position
Correctly orienting your home involves positioning or renovating a home to take advantage of the sun in winter, and cooling breezes in summer. According to the government’s Your Home Technical Manual, the first step to prioritise your heating and cooling requirements. In hot humid climates or hot dry climates where winter heating isn’t required, you should aim to exclude the sun year round by shading and maximising exposure to cooling breezes. In all other climates, however, a combination of passive solar heating and passive cooling is required, although this will vary with climate.
“There is no one size fits all approach to passive design,” says Professor Richard Hyde, author of Climate Responsive Design and Professor of Architectural Science at the University of Sydney.”It can also be quite a challenge to retrofit a house, and success can depend on climate and the home’s orientation.”
He advocates using experts to provide micro-climate analysis of a site that assesses the angle and direction of the sun throughout the year, wind speed and direction and considers other factors like humidity that help determine the best orientation for the house. The way the building will be used also needs to be taken into consideration when planning how to use energy more effectively.
“It’s important to take a ‘whole building’ approach and consider how the elements will work together,” he says, adding that when it comes to ‘green-ovating’ you need to work out which things can be changed, and which will only cause more problems.
“For example, if you increase the amount of insulation in a poorly ventilated house, it will only make keeping it cool in summer a bigger problem, unless that problem is sorted out too [by changing the number, style or location of windows].”

Warmth from the sun
A good place to start green-ovating, he says, is to identify a north-facing room that can be used as a solar collector in winter. Windows facing north receive the sun for the longest part of the day in winter, and when the sun is high in summer, eaves and other forms of shading will help ensure the sun doesn’t penetrate.
“Using the heat gained through the windows in combination with thermal mass” – strategically positioned concrete or brick inside the home (such as a floor or wall) that is able to soak up heat during the day and release it in the evening when it’s cooler – “will make the home more resilient and less reliant on fossil fuels for heating,” Professor Hyde adds. “In cooler climates, for example, people often add a conservatory onto the building to collect the sun’s warmth and heat the air.”
If renovating, and the front of your block faces south, consider placing living areas where the family spends the most time at the north-facing rear of the home. If there block faces east or west, place living areas towards the rear facing north, while if the front of the block faces north place them at the front. Windows are the weakest link in a home: too much glass on the eastern and western sides of the home allows the sun to penetrate in summer and can cause the house to overheat, while in winter too much heat can be lost through large glazed areas, especially those facing south. Using skylights instead of traditional windows to allow light to penetrate dark areas of the home, and installing heavy curtains to reduce heat loss in winter, can help balance the heat budget. In the summer months, however, free cooling is easily achieved by using cross-ventilation and by having shaded windows that open fully – where windows are open on both sides of a room or house, air can flow freely across the space and cool it.
“As energy costs escalate and concerns about climate change continue to mount it’s just intuitive that we will see more and more people using passive design principles to warm and cool their homes,” says Professor Hyde.

This article was originally published on the Light Home Magazine Website, an informative hub for designers, builders and renovators who have discovered the benefits of using light weight, sustainable building materials.